reasonable in the light of modern knowledge. By 1911, when the Government 
assumed direct control of the seal herd, the combined assault on land and 
sea had reduced it to approximately 215,000 animals. 
From 1912 to sometime in the late 1930's the herd, as well as 
the annual take of seals, increased. As this report demonstrates, the 
herd has now leveled off at approximately 1-1/2 million seals and the 
ennual take at 66,000. From the foregoing discussion it is obvious that 
annual kilis of over 100,000 seals during the period 1870 to 1890 were at 
the expense of the breeding stock. Future kills may possibly be increased 
slightly by improved methods of harvesting, but no long-range advantage 
can be gained by greatly depleting the breeding stock. 
Modern pelagic sealing 
Pelagic sealing is nonselective. It results in the taking of a 
high percentage of pregnant females. While the selective killing of 60 
to 70 thousand male seals on the Pribilofs has little effect on the 
breeding reserve, the same is not true for a sustained annual take of 60 
to 70 thousand seals at sea. 

Figure 14. Pelagic sealing for research purposes off 
Japan in 1952. The Japanese use 10- and l2-gage shotguns loaded 
with 0 or 00 buckshot to kill seals as they "porpoise" ahead of 
the ship. Dead seals are recovered by a gaff on a bamboo pole. 
As many es 100 seals can be taken in a day by a Japanese harpoon 
ship or "tsukimbo-sen" of this type. Pelagic sealing on a large 
seale especially between 1880 and 1910 reduced the Pribilof fur- 
seal herd to the verge of extermination (KWK 52 723). 
-5- 
